Hinge construction



Dec. 6, 1955 w. H. ZIEGLER HINGE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 10, 1953 w r 3 \\V\\\ 2W Q 5 1 y 5 n I 2% w 9 [f 3 w fi M v Z 3 f w k/M 1% z M2 2,725,590 A] Patented Dec. 6, 1955 HINGE CONSTRUCTION Walter H. Ziegler, Oak Park, 111., assignor to Storkline Furniture Corporation, Chicago, BL, 21 C-flllpfil'illifil'i or Illinois Application August 10, 1953, Serial No. 373,195

3 Claims. ((116-135) This. invention relates to a hinge and more particularly to a locking hinge, which is a hinge having. latch means associated therewith for locking the hinge in a selected. attitude or position.

One object of this invention is to provide a novel locking hinge structure wherein the latch means is substantially hidden between the hinge and the members to which the hinge is attached when the latch is in latching position.

Another object is to provide a locking hinge structure having improved means for maintaining the latch in the locked position so as to substantially obviate any inadvertent unlocking of the hinge.

A further object of this invention. is to provide a hinge with latch means associated therewith, wherein portions of the hinge cooperate with the: latch means to maintain the latch means in its locking. position.

While the hinge and latch means of this invention is useful in any structure wherein it is desired to selectively lock members to which the hinge is secured in a desired position, the locking hinge of. this invention is particularly useful and desirable with folding type childrens furniture, such as cribs, playpens and the like.

Folding cribs and playpens for babies and small chil dren are particularly popular because they may be conveniently stored or carried by automobile, and, when desired, may be unfolded for use. Of course,hinges are utilized in connecting folding sections of said cribs and playpens. In order to keep the unfolded article of furniture rigid, latches are provided. Usually the hinges are positioned on the outside of the pair of members which are hinged together and the latch for. rigidifying the hinged joint is positioned on the inside of the. members which are hinged together. The latch usually comprises an elongated strip of metal pivotal ly mounted at one end thereof on one of the pair of members which are hinged together. The extended end of the strip forms a hook; and there is a projection on the other member, of the-pair of members, with which the latch hook engages.

There are a number of undesirable features in this arrangement. First, since the latch is positioned inside the crib or playpen it is a member which the child may contact and may injure himself thereon. Second, this. type of latch is either very easily unhooked or becomes that way after a little use. Thereafter, the child may dislodge the latch from the projection'and the latch then hangs freely in the crib. The child may injure himself on the freely hanging hook; or after the latch has been unhooked, the pair of members may hinge slightly to expose a crack and if the child gets'his finger or any portion of his body in the crack and thereafter if forces on the pair of members tend to close the crack, the child is pinched and may be painfully injured.

All of the above noted deficiencies have existed for many years. Therefore, it is an additional object of this invention to provide a hinge in combination with a latch associated therewith, of a novel construction,

whereby the above set forth deficiencies are avoided.

And a further object of this invention is to provide a combination hinge and latch for a crib or playpen wherein all portions of the hinge and latch are adapted to be mounted on the outside of the crib or playpen thus avoiding substantially all engagement thereof with the occupant of the crib or playpen.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out. with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view ofa playpen equipped with the locking hinge of this invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevation view ofthe hinge and latch therefore;

Figure 3 is a top plan view looking downwardly on Figure 2;.

Figure 4 is a top plan view showing the hinge in folded condition; I

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the latch;

Figure 6 is a cross-section view taken on line 6-6 of Figure 2;. and

Figure 7 is a cross-section view taken on line 7-7 of Figure 2'.-

Referring. now to the drawings, there: is shown in Figure l a playpen 10 having. a pair of opposite-long. sides 12 and a pair of opposite shorter sides 14. The pair of shorter sides 14 are each formed by two sections or members 16 and 18 which are adapted to fold to provide for collapsing. of the playpen. Details of a folding playpen of the type generally illustrated are well known and these details do not form any part of the: invention described herein. When the crib is unfolded, the half-sections 16 and 18 are adapted to be aligned with each other and lie in a plane, as shown in Figures- 1' and 3.

The playpen sections 16 and 18 are secured to each other by means of a hinge generally indicated-at 20. Hinge 2i comprises a leafv 22 and a leaf 24 hinged together at a knuckle 26 about a hinge pin 27. Leaf 22 carries a flange 28 offset therefrom and attached to section 16 by any appropriate means, such as screw'29; and leaf 24 carries a flange 30-otfset therefrom and attached to section 18 by any appropriate means, such as screw '31. The flanges 23 and 30 are spaced. from the planes" of leaves 22 and 24 and are located laterally outwardly of aligned leaves 22 and 24-.- Leaves 22 and 24'are adapted to be aligned substantially in the same plane when: the hinge is -unfolded, asshown in- Figure 3- When the hinge 2b is mounted on playpen sections 1.6 and 18, hinge leaves 22 and 24 are spaced from sections 16- and 18 to define therebetween a vertically unobstructed elongated recess 32. Passing through leaf 22 ,andextending across recess 32 and fastened to section 16 is a member 34 having. a threaded portion 35 atfordingmeans' for seeurement toplaypen section 16. Member 34 has a head 36 engaging leaf 22 and an enlarged shank portion 38. The shank portion is of a greater diameter thanthreadedportion: 35 thus defining a shoulder 40 for engaging playpen section 16 to limit the insertion of member 34 into section 16, and so as to maintain the spacing of leaf 2?. from section-16, as shown.

Passing through leaf 24 and extending across recess 32 andfastenedto playpen sect-ion 18-is a member '42 having a threaded portion 44 affording means for se'curement to playpen. section 18. The member 42 has ahead 46 em gaging leaf 24, and an enlarged shank portion 48'.. A washer or collar 50 is positioned on shank 48 to maintain the spacing between leaf 24 and playpen section 18, as shown.

Mounted on shank 38 for pivoting therearound, to the various positions shown in Figure 2, is a latch 52 adapted to swing in the plane of the recess 32. Latch 52 comprises a flat portion 54 and flange 56. The flat portion 54 is of lesser thickness than the width of the portion of the recess shown in Figure 7, located between the hinged leaf 22 and the section 16, and said flat portion has an aperture 58 therethrough to provide for the pivotal mounting of said latch 52 on shank 38. The length of the flat portion 54 is such as to permit the latch 52 straddling, or extending across, of the knuckle 26 on the hinge. That is, a portion of the latch 52 projects or extends, from its pivotal mounting between leaf 22 and playpen section 16, across the hinge knuckle 26 and into the portion of recess 32 bounded by'leaf 24 and playpen section 18. The flange 56 on the latch 52 is slotted, or recessed, at 59 to provide for fitting of the flange over the upper edge of leaf 24 in the manner as shown in full lines in Figure 2. When the latch is in the position shown in full lines in Figure 2, the terminal portion 57 of flange 56 is positioned outwardly of the leaf 24 and affords means for manually forcing the latch out of the locking position. When the hinge is folded, as in Figure 4, the latch 52 may be swung to a vertical, inoperative and non-protruding, position, as shown both in Figure 4 and in the downwardly extending dot-dash line position of Figure 2.

. Referring to Figure 3, it will be seen that the leaves 22 and 24 lie in slightly converging relation with the playpen sections 16 and 18 to which they are attached. In other words, the leaves 22 and 24 are not exactly parallel with the plane of the aligned playpen sections 16 and 18. The leaves 22 and 24 converge so that they are spaced closest to the plane of the aligned playpen sections 16 and 18 at the hinge knuckle 26. In other words, the width of the recess 32 is smallest adjacent the knuckle 26.

The thickness of the flat portion 54 of latch 52 is slightly greater than the normal narrowest width of the recess 32. When the latch 52 is moved into the locking position astraddle, or extending across, the knuckle 26, it: is forced between knuckle 26 and the opposed playpen sections. This serves to frictionally hold the latch 52 in the locking position. It is possible to force the latch into the locking position because the knuckle 26 is not rigidly mounted but may be sprung slightly outwardly to accommodate entrance of fiat portion 54 between it and the opposite playpen portions. This springing of the knuckle is easily eflected through the wedging action obtained between the flat portion 54, which is pivotally mounted, cooperating with the members bounding the taperingwidth recess 32.

The frictional wedging of the latch 52 in the recess 32 and the positioning of the hinge and the latch 52 wholly outside the inner confines of the playpen serve to substantially eliminate all possibility of the child within the playpen unlatching the latch 52 or causing the folding wall sections of the playpen from hinging inadvertently.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention and, therefore, it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is: t 1

. 1. An improved lock hinge for use in the combination of a pair of members adapted to be swung into and out of alignment with each other and a hinge structure secured to said pair of members; said improved lock hinge comprising first and second leaves hinged together at a knuckle, each leaf having a mounting flange associated therewith and secured to one of said pair of members,

each leaf being offset from its associated mounting flange so that when said pair of members are swung into alignment with each other and the hinge is unfolded the hinge leaves are spaced from the aligned members, said hinge knuckle being positioned on the side of the hinge leaves opposite from said aligned members, said aligned members and hinge leaves spaced therefrom defining therebetween an elongated recess, spacer means between each hinge leaf and the member to which said hinge leaf is attached for maintaining the spacing between the hinge leaves and said pair of members, and a latch of lesser thickness than the width of said spacer means pivotally mounted in said elongated recess and adapted to be swung in said elongated recess into and out of a position wherein the pair of members are locked in aligned condition, the leaves of said hinge lying in slightly converging relation with the corresponding members to which they are attached, so as to define said elongated recess as of varying width with its narrowest width adjacent the hinge knuckle, and the thickness of said latch being slightly greater than the normal narrowest width of said elongated recess so that the latch may be forced between the hinge and said aligned members to be frictionally held in a position within said recess wherein the latch extends across said knuckle.

2. An improved lock hinge for use in the combination of a pair of members adapted to be swung into and out of alignment with each other and a hinge structure secured to said pair of members; said improved lock hinge comprising first and second leaves hinged together at a knuckle each leaf having a mounting flange associated therewith and secured to one of said pair of members, each leaf being offset from its associated mounting flange so that when said pair of members are swung into alignment with each other and the hinge is unfolded the hinge leaves are spaced from the aligned members, said hinge knuckle being positioned on the side of the hinge leaves opposite from said aligned members, said aligned members and hinge leaves spaced therefrom defining therebetween an elongated recess, spacer means between each hinge leaf and the member to which said hinge leaf is attached for maintaining the spacing between the hinge leaves and said pair of'members, and a latch of lesser thickness than the width of said spacer means pivotally mounted on one of said spacer means and adapted to be swung in said elongated recess, there being a position of said latch where portions of said latch extend across said hinge knuckle when said pair of members are aligned, the leaves of said hinge lying in slightly converging relation with the corresponding members to which they are attached, so as to define said elongated recess as of varying width with its narrowest width adjacent the hinge knuckle, and the thickness of said latch being slightly greater than the normal 7 narrowest width of said elongated recess so that the latch may be forced between the hinge and said aligned members to be frictionally held in a position within said recess wherein the latch extends across said knuckle.

3. An improved lock hinge for use in the combination of a pair of members adapted to be swung into and out of alignment with each other and a hinge structure secured to said pair of members; said improved lock hinge comprising first and second leaves hinged together at a knuckle,

each leaf having a mounting flange associated therewith and secured to one of said pair of members, each leaf being oflset from its associated mounting flange and being disposed laterally inwardly of said mounting flange so that when said pair of members are swung into alignment with each other and the hinge is unfolded the hinge leaves are spaced from the aligned members and are located laterally between the mounting flanges for said hinge leaves, said hinge knuckle being positioned on the side of the hinge leaves opposite from said aligned members, said aligned members and hinge leaves spaced therefrom defining therebetween an elongated recess that is unobstructed in itsvertical extent, a latch pivotally mounted in said elongated recess and adapted to be swung into oppotion within said recess wherein the latch extends across site vertical positions when the hinge is in folded condisaid knuckle.

tion, the leaves of said hinge lying in slightly converging relation with the corresponding members to which they References Cited in the file of this patent are attached, so as to define said elongated recess as of 5 varying width with its narrowest width adjacent the hinge UNITED STATES PATENTS knuckle, and the thickness of said latch being slightly 83,869 McKee Nov. 10, 1868 greater than the normal narrowest width of said elongated 1,284,237 Carll Nov. 12, 1918 recess so that the latch may be forced between the hinge 2,441,318 Harbison May 11, 1948 and said aligned members to be frictionally held in a posi- 10 2.671,683 Heyman Mar. 9, 1954 

